Dancing in the Dark
by La La sunshine rainbows
Summary: Lisette somehow winds up at Bloor's Academy. Dances heart out. People dissapear. Give me OCs/couples. In progress so rating may change.
1. Information

**Disclamer: Me no own Charlie Bone. Me own Lisette & Sarafina. You own OCs you submit. Tank you much.**

Name: Lisette Summers

Age:13

Department: Drama

Appearance: Long jet-black hair, bright green eyes. tall (5'7") skinny.

Clothing style: Casual

Endowment: Teleportation. this is how she went from dancing in her room in NYC (to Tori Amos's Welcome to England hee hee its an awesome song) to Bloors Academy, Which is in Britain.

Likes:Dance, indie/rock/alternative music, her crazy NYC friends

Dislikes: feeling helpless/clueless, feeling obligated to do something

B/I: She was born and raised in Manhattan, NYC. She is a lot more casual than everyone else at Bloors. No one else in her family is endowed. Or knows what that means.

Personality: she seems nervous at first but then you see her as a smart, sassy, and kind person.

Fave song (weird, I know but important): Welcome to England by Tori Amos

Name: Sarafina Zankov

Age: 13

Department: Drama

Appearance: Shoulder length platinum blond hair, dark brown eyes, very tiny, (4'6") Polish features.

Clothing style: Eccentric fashionista (peasent tops and long flowing skirts, logo tees, colorful denim, etc)

Endowment: Healer. she proves annoyingly helpful to the rest of the characters, Not only to Charlie but to Manfred too.

Likes: Helping people, modern art, henna-ing/ airbrush tatooing her arms/legs/hands/feet, singing, telling stories

Dislikes: manipulative people, mean people, when people get annoyed with her.

B/I: She was born in Poland. Her mother was also a healer. She went to an English school so she speaks fluent English, but with a slight accent. She moves to Britain 3 weeks before the beginning of my story.

Personality: Kind and cheerful, no matter the situation. Optomistic. Is always popping up in the least expected places and seems to know exactly what everyone needs.

Fave song: Dashboard by Modest Mouse (this is another awesome song, indie rock, the lyrics are very optimistic which embodies her personality)


	2. Where am I?

Lisette woke with a start. Where was she? She wasn't in her room. She remembered blackness surrounding her while she was dancing, then landing on her bed. She only felt like she was unconscious for a few seconds. Wait... if it was seven o'clock when she blacked out, why is it midnight now? She definitely wasn't in a hospital... but there were other girls sleeping around her. Was she in a dormitory? Where was she?

Lisette drifted off to sleep, wondering where she would be in the morning...

To Lisette's surprise, she was still in the same place she went to sleep in. People were moving around her. At least I fell asleep in my clothes, she thought. _But what about tomorrow?_ Panicking, she looked around the room. Two girls were watching her. One of them spoke.

"You know your clothes are in there right?" Said the girl with a hint of sarcasm. She was pointing to a dresser. The girl had purple and green hair. Scowling, Lisette pulled out some clothes from the dresser._ How did they get there?_ Lisette ran into the changing room.

"You should hurry, we need to get to breakfast soon" Lisette guessed that this was the blond girl speaking. She didn't notice it before, but both girls had british accents. Was she in England? Great Britain? The UK? Whatever they were calling themselves these days. She hurried out of the changing room ready to go.

"What department are you in?" asked the blond girl

"Ummm…." Said Lisette. She saw a purple cape hanging next to her bed. "I forgot, what does purple mean?"

"Oh, that's Drama, same as Liv here." The blond girl motioned to the brunette. "I am in Art so I wear green."

"C'mon, let's go!" Liv tapped her foot impaitiently. "We need to get to breakfast! We'll show you the way."

As the three girls walked to the cafeteria, Lisette made it her business to learn as much as she could about the school. There were three departments, each symbolized by a color. Purple was Drama, green was Art, and blue was music. The girls, who's names were Emma and Olivia, were a year younger than her. They told Lisette to stay away from the Bloors, who owned the academy, especially Manfred.

"If you get on his bad side he'll hypnotize you." Said Olivia, wickedly. Lisette noticed that Emma looked sincere.

"Are you on his bad side?" Lisette asked, curiously.

"Oh of course!"

Just then a boy fumbled down the stairs. He had thick dark hair and seemed very rushed. Seeing Emma and Olivia, he waved. He then hurried down into the blue cafeteria.

"Who's that?" Lisette asked

"That's Charlie Bone, one of our friends" Emma said as she descended into the green cafeteria.

"We'll introduce you to our friends later, see you!" Olivia went to sit with some of her other friends in drama. Not wanting to be a tagalong, Lisette glided to the other end of the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello again… HAPPY RAINBOWs**

**Thank you very much.**

Lisette walked into the garden after her math lesson. She had talked to another girl in that class and found that she was in the new dance program. She couldn't help smiling. She had been dancing for ten years and she was the best in all of her classes. Feeling bubbly, she _arabasque-sote-d _over to where she saw Olivia and Emma. They were talking to the Charlie Bone kid and a bunch of other guys she had never seen before. They weren't even in her department.

All of a sudden, a guy that was about eighteen or nineteen stepped in front of her. "Lisette Summers!" he boomed, "Come to the King's Room for homework! Understand?"

Lisette nodded meekly. She didn't like the way he was staring at her at all. Luckiliy the boy spotted someone else breaking the rules that Lisette still did not know and he walked away.

She ran over to Olivia and Emma. Emma waved when Lisette had reached the group.

"Hi!" Emma seemed exited about something. She spoke to the others. "This is Lisette."

"Hello" Lisette felt nervous. She had no idea why.

A boy with floppy hair and a long face spoke first. "Hello, My name is Gabriel. Don't be so nervous, nobody here bites."

"Except Manfred... oh wait he just yells." This time it was a really tall African boy who spoke. "I'm Lysander, by the way."

"Umm, was that the really old guy who just yelled at me for no reason whatsoever?"

"You bet!" Said a cheerful looking kid with freckles. He was carrying a violin case.

"Fido's the lucky one! He has a homework group with a nice monitor" Charlie said.

"Hey! what about me!!" Olivia was wobbling in heels that were at least five inches high. "I'm not in your homework group! I'm not in the same homework group as Fido, but I do have a homework monitor that isn't Manfred, Luckily." She looked over her sholder. A spider appeared on the ground. It was about the size of a watermelon. A boy who she had yet to talk to seemed paralyzed with terror. He had yellow hair. Not blond, but yellow. A breeze ruffled everyones hair. A low mumble came from him.

"Olivia... if this is you..." Olivia was giggling and the spider was receding.

"What will you do? I'm extremely curious." She kept taunting him. "If you do anything to hurt me, you know Emma will be sad." She made a puppy face."And I know that's something you don't want to do."

Emma flushed a deep red while the boy turned pink. Charlie, sensing a delicate situation that might become hard to handle asked Lisette a question.

"Do you know what homework group you're in?"

"Manfred told me to go to the Kings room for homework. I don't really know where that is" Lisette glanced around nervously. "Is that his homework group?"

"Unfortunately" Charlie said "I'm Charlie"

"Yeah, Olivia and Emma told me."

"I'll show you the way after dinner."

"Ok" The hunting horn rang and everyone hurried to get inside to their next class.


	4. Chapter 3

Lisette was still nervous about Bloor's Academy. Some of the people were really weird. She saw a group of kids who, when put together, reminded her of her were two girls who were so obviously twins. Her friends Paulisse and Paulette were identical twins. Both of her friends had slightly crooked teeth, which resulted in braces for the both of them. There was a boy next to the twins in the garden that had teeth ten times as worse as Paulisse and Paulette ever had. The older boy in the group had the same aquamarine eyes as her friends and the girl next to him had the same hair as her friends. Or rather she Wanted to have the same hair as Paulisse and Paulette. They had glorious beach blond hair, while the girl here had hair that was once sort of blond but now it was so fake it was funny, her perm was a sorry sight too. They glared at her when they noticed her watching them.

Lisette hurried off to the gymnasium for dance class. It was her last class before dinner, and she hoped it would be her favorite class. She loved to dance. As she entered the gym, a tiny blond girl ran up to her.

"Hello Lisette." She spoke with a polish accent. "I am Sarafina Zankov." Lisette recognized her as the girl from her math class. "I am very happy to meet you. You are very odd, arriving on a Tuesday. Why is that?"

"Umm…" Lisette struggled to come with a believable falsehood. "My plane was super delayed. I came in around midnight. Flights are terrible these days."

"Ah, I see. We best get to the gym, no?"

"Yeah"

Lisette had a ballet lesson like she had back in New York. She was still one of the best. Sarafina was also very good. The teacher was working on a recital piece and put them in the front.

_I'm not sure I can cope with this lie, but I'm not sure how I even got here._ Lisette's nervousness threatened to explode. She wanted to tell Sarafina the truth, but the truth was, she had no idea what she was doing here.

_Welcome to England, he said_

_Welcome to my world_

It was raining. Lisette caught up with Sarafina after class and asked if she could to show her the way to the dinner hall. Sarafina was only too happy to oblige. Lisette looked out the window in the back stairwell. The sky was very gray.

_You better bring your own sun,Sweet girl_

_You better bring your own sun, Don't you forget to_

_Bring your own sun, Just enough for everyone…_

"Are you ready to meet the rest of the school?" said Sarafina as she opened the door.


	5. Chapter 4

*Flashback*

"ready or not, here I come!"

Ahh the summer before third grade. Playing Hide and seek with Paulisse and Paulette. Uh oh. Lisette was a few steps away from being discovered. Another hiding place, fifteen feet away. Too far. If only I was there she thought with all of her might...

*End Flashback*

"Hello? Lisette? Are you okay?" Olivia was calling her. She was sitting in the dining hall with Sarafina and Olivia. The three long tables were separated by departments.

"Of course she is Livvy," Sarafina said. "She was, as you say, obviously nostalgic."

"Yeah, I was thinking of a time when I was playing Hide and Seek with my friends in Central Park"

Suddenly a booming voice shouted: "DISPERSE"

Lisette hurried to find Charlie. There he was, on the stairs, talking to Gabriel. He turned and waved.

"So as I was saying, Billy wasn't here today. I mean, we got him out of the painting, he was adopted, and he was on the bus on Monday. So where is he now?" Gabriel was talking quietly.

"I don't know." Charlie said. He turned to Lisette, "Here we are."

It was a magnificent room. It was surrounded by bookshelf and in the center of the room was a beautiful painting. Charlie sat directly across from the painting.

"Hello Lisette. Will you sit next to me?"

Lisette gasped. Then she recognized the Polish accent. "Of course, Sarafina."

Other people started filing in. First the too older boys she had spoke to during first break, then the twins, the kid with the crooked teeth, the boy with aquamarine eyes, and the horrid perm girl. Emma came in next. She sat next to the blond boy. Finally, a girl with crimson eyes and shoulder-length ebony hair walked in and sat down.

"Who are you?" crooked teeth asked Lisette.

"I'm Lisette Summers. Who are you?"

"Joshua. Thats Dorcas, Dagbert, Idith and Inez" He pointed to the blond girl, the guy with aquamarine eyes and the twins in turn. "Do you know everyone now?"

The red-eyed girl looked up. Her eye color was disconcerting, given the way they seemed to bore into her soul. She stood up. "I have yet to introduce myself. Juliet Thomas Dalton. Music." She held out her hand.

They shook hands. Her grip was firm, but not overpowering. Juliet sat down next to Emma.

The boy she now knew as Dagbert asked Lysander:"Where is Manfred? It's his job, not yours."

"All I'm told is that he couldn't be here." Lysander looked around the table. "Where's Billy?"

"He was here yesterday." Dorcas's voice had a spiteful edge. "Maybe he ran away, good riddance."

"That is not a kind thing to say." Ah, typical Sarafina.

"Dorcas, is that honestly how you talk?" Lisette was on the verge of giggling. "Good riddance, what century is this? the eighteenth?"

Dorcas looked offended." I think everyone here but you would find that insulting"

"Okay, now we start homework." Lysander took charge to prevent any bloodshed. Everyone opened their books.

Lisette had Welcome to England playing in her head as she started her math homework. Something about Dorcas's tone told her she knew exactly where Billy had gone. She touched the cut on her palm. She noticed that her cape had a few drops of blood on it. Most of the blood was on the pocket. Her pencil broke. _grrr._She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a pencil sharpener. _How did that happen? _She finished her homework.

Everyone left at eight o'clock. She overheard Gabriel say he was going to play the piano. Her gut told her that it was dangerous for him.

"Lisette, we must arrive at the dormitory before the matron decides to close the lights," Sarafina was gently tugging her arm. Lisette followed her to the dormitory, where her crazy adventure started.


	6. Chapter 5

The next few days passed without any problems. But on Friday, during first break, Lisette saw the people she considered her acquaintances standing and talking, expressions of worry clearly evident on their faces. Something seemed wrong.

She walked up to Sarafina, who was dresses in a gauzy skirt and a fitted tee. "What happened?" Lisette asked.

"Poor Gabriel has disappeared." Sarafina responded.

"Last night, when he went to practice piano," Charlie added.

Where did he go? They weren't allowed to leave during the week. So where did he go. _Dorcas knows. She probably knew about Billy too._

Standing in between Sarafina and Juliet, Lisette noted the suspicious way the others regarded her trio. _And why wouldn't they? _She rationalized. _We're new, we came under mysterious circumstances, and the disappearances started... started..._

_ When I arrived._

Lisette knew that she wouldn't be able to keep this secret for long. She needed to confide, to tell her story, or risk insanity.

She didn't realize that she was not paying attention, so when Sarafina dragged her by her arm, her reverie ended. She grinned at the other students and waved._ How could such a tiny person be so strong? Oh yeah, dance._

"Lisette," Began Sarafina, but Lisette interrupted her before she could say anything.

"Sarafina, I have to tell you something. It is really, really important that you keep this a secret." Sarafina was the sort of person to confide in. When she was dancing, there was always a smile on her face and her movements were loud, much louder than expected from a person of her stature. Her optimism was quite contagious and people couldn't help but smile when she was around.

"Everyone thinks I got here on a Tuesday because my flight was delayed. But I really got here around midnight Monday night… Only… I have no idea how it happened. Ever since then everything I needed has been in my pocket. Or my backpack. Passport, pen, ID, you name it, and I could probably pull it from somewhere. I don't know why that is."

Sarafina's brow was wrinkled enough to draw a picture. After a few minutes of what seemed to be thought, she spoke.

"You should stay at my house for weekends. It is much safer than this awful castle. You must tell my Matka your story. She is knowledgeable. A healer, like me."

Lisette threw her arms around her friend. They would get to the bottom of this. Neither of them noticed a shadow walk across the grounds to where Dorcas was standing with Joshua, Dagbert, and the twins.

Suddenly, Dorcas was on the ground, her faced streaked with tears. She was holding her ankle as if it was a child she must protect. Sarafina hurried over to where the injured girl lay curled in the fetal position.

Lisette followed, curious. Dorcas had largely ignored Sarafina, and the one time Lisette heard them engage in conversation, Dorcas had called Sarafina anorexic. Sarafina promptly turned and walked away, muttering in Polish.

Dorcas was protesting, but no one dared to approach the drab, overweight girl wearing a skirt and a suit jacket she barely fit into. She reminded Lisette of the mothers she'd seen the time she was in a performance in one of the outerboroughs. Sarafina was calm and collected. She placed her hands on the injured girl's ankle. A strange glow was emitted from her hand. Dorcas's crying slowed, until it ceased altogether.

Sarafina held out her hand. Dorcas took it suspiciously. She stood up and tested her ankle. No cry of pain was emitted. She looked back at Sarafina and started running.

Sarafina shrugged and walked back to Lisette, smiling as always.

"Oi, isn't it polite to say thank you?" An Irish sounding voice came from behind her. Lisette whirled around, but nobody was there.

"Did you hear that?" She asked Sarafina.

For the second time in the space of two minutes, Sarafina shrugged and smiled. The hunting horn rang and the two pique-turned back to class.

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing recognizable. In addition, Juliet (Introduced last chapter) belongs to the sweet16 Writer. Irish shadow guy (All will be revealed) belongs to quoththeraven5.**

**Happy reading!**

**~Rainbows~**


	7. Chapter 6

**I forgot to note in the previous chapter that Matka means Mother in polish. Pomoc means help and is pronounced 'pomotz'**

"Wow"

Lisette stood in the center of a small foyer. To her left was a spiraling staircase, and to her right was beaded curtain. The beads clinked melodiously as she passed through the archway. In the next room was an interesting little shop. Incense burned warmly, and the smoky, cinnamony smell felt like home. One wall was filled with books while another was filled with vials. Potted plants lined the windowsill.

"So you like my little shop, no?" came a voice.

Lisette spun around. It was only Sarafina's mother, with a little boy hiding behind his mother's long and flowing skirt. Her face was lined, but it still held remnants of beauty from her youth, and kindness radiated from her gentle smile. "It's awesome. It's nice to meet you Ms. Zarkov. Thank you for letting me stay for the weekend."

"It is no trouble," She replied with a lilting voice. Gently pushing the golden haired boy out from behind her, she introduced him. "This is my son, Mikhail."

He gave a pout, distorting his cherub face. "Matka…She's _funny_…like Safi…" His voice was a high-pitched whine.

"Don't say that," His mother scolded. "She is our guest. If you don't want to be nice, go to your room and play."

He gave another pout, then hurried back through the beaded curtain and up the stairs.

"Please do forgive him, he is only eight." Ms. Zarkov made her way into the shop, picked up a watering can, and began to water the plants. "I believe he can read auras, and he sees something in the auras of the endowed that he does not like." She lowered her voice. "It scares him."

A tinkle of glass, and Sarafina appeared beside Lisette. She rattled on in polish very quickly, and a look of alarm passed across her mother's otherwise serene face. "Sarafina, show Lisette to the guest room. The three of us will have a speak later." With that, she returned to watering her plants.

The guest room was sparsely decorated with just one oil painting on the wall. The bed was covered with a big fluffy white blanket. It looked like a cloud. Lisette didn't need much time to take in the details of where she would be staying, so when Sarafina yanked her arm and pulled her into her room she had seen all of the guest room.

Sarafina's room was almost over-decorated by comparison. Covered in Degas copies, the lilac walls barely peeked through. The furniture lined the perimeter of the room, leaving a wide, open space in the center of the room. It was perfect for dancing. There was a high tech stereo system sitting on a desk. Sarafina caught Lisette admiring it. A knock from the door came. Sarafina's mother entered.

"Lisette, Sarafina has told me of your story. She has also told me of the missing students." She paused. "I have never heard of children disappearing like that. Yet, I know your endowment, which has been a mystery to you.

"You are a teleporter."

It all made sense.

"Is there a way that me being a teleporter has something to do with people vanishing? Is there a way to teleport other people?"

Ms. Zarkov looked pensive. "It would require blood of a teleporter being woven into something. It is not, what is it you say, common. Unless you have lost blood, I would not hasten to make that connection.

"I will leave you girls alone for now. Please be advised that we will hunger and dine in twenty minutes." Ms. Zarkov breezed out of the room.

Lisette glanced at her palm. The cut from Tuesday was becoming a scab. She and Sarafina exchanged glances.

The next day, Sarafina's mother, being a healer as well, sent the girls to take Mikhail for ice cream. She had a client and did not want the children bothering her.

As the trio walked to the town, they heard a strange commotion. Rocks and logs were chasing groups of people while they struggled to run in one direction. Lisette squinted; the figures looked familiar.

"Isn't that Olivia?" She said pointing out a figure with bright pink hair. "And Emma and Juliet!"

Sarafina followed her gaze. "Yes! It appears that Charlie, Fidelio, Tancred, and Lysander also are there."

"DOGGIE!" Shouted Mikhail as he ran towards a big yellow dog and his owner.

"Mikhail!" his sister warned. The dog seemed overly nervous, as if ticks and mosquitoes were swarming him.

The girls ran to the park clearing where this battle against unseen assailants was taking place. The group was, for the most part, dodging the rocks, tree limbs, and trash flying at them. Water wrapped around their ankles causing them to trip. They could not see their foes, and therefore they were powerless to do anything against them. Only Tancred fought against the inanimate objects, unleashing gust after gust of powerful winds, and bolt after bolt of lightning. Yet it proved to be a dilemma as the rocks were similar to the many heads of the hydra. Break one and two come speeding back in its place. It was clear that the storm boy and his friends were nearing total exhaustion.

Sarafina's brother was also caught in the barrage of flying objects. Tears streaked his rotund face. "Safi! Safi! Help me! _POMOC!_"

Lisette went with her intuition. "Guys!" She yelled over the cracking rocks. "Either grab on to me or to someone grabbing onto me!"

It was a long process. She managed to grab Olivia and the dog's owner, who was holding tightly to the dog. Mikhail had grabbed her leg. Charlie grabbed Olivia; Emma grabbed Charlie. Juliet attached herself to Emma, while Tancred, Lysander, Fidelio and Sarafina grabbed the dog owner's elbow. All while battling against the vicious rocks.

"Quick where's a safe place?" Lisette asked.

"Pet's Café" answered Charlie.

_Okay, Pet's Café, Pet's Café, Pet's Café…_ she closed her eyes, willing the group to travel there with her.

The group screamed and the dog barked. Lisette just made out the sign for the Pet's Café before she blacked out.

**Okay**

**I promise to put a new chapter up soon. But it takes a while to write them.**

**Please review. It makes me happy **


	8. Chapter 7

** Sorry about the delay. I was on vacation. This story will be on hiatus following this chapter. Probably until December.**

** Ariana Moore Belongs to Youknowme, Adrick McKale Belongs to quoththeraven, and Juliet Thomas Dalton belongs to The sweet16 writer. I own Sarafina, Lisette, and the people connected to them (ie, mother, brother, friends). Everything else is probably something you recognize, and that all belongs to Jenny Nimmo. I am closing all O/C submissions. But I may make a NextGen Fic (I like those) so if you have O/Cs I may use them in that. Oh and **_siła _**Is pronounced "shula" and means Strength.**

**Enough announcements…It's StoryTime™**

_What happened to her?_

_ I believe it to be overexertion. She does not have much what is it __siła…Strength…with her endowment._

_ Which is what?_

_ Teleportation._

Lisette gradually became aware of people around her. She couldn't find the energy to open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. She settled for listening and recognizing the voices around her.

"No worries," said Sarafina. She recognized the polish lilt right away. "She is only tired, I need not heal her."

"So you can heal Tancred and Juliet." Olivia's normally bubbly voice was flat, especially on Juliet's name.

"And Runner! You can heal dogs right?" Lisette didn't recognize this voice; she assumed it belonged to the boy with the dog.

"Yes, yes. One minute please."

Whatever room she was in became quiet. The door closed with a click. Lisette found herself drifting off to sleep.

_The scenery changed. It was a forest, a desert, a mountain, a castle. A small, white-haired boy was running through the forest. "Why can't you hear me?" He yelled to a wolfpack. The wolf snarled, bearing its fangs whiter than pearls and sharper than knives. The boy screamed and ran. He ran straight out of the forest into the desert. He sank into the golden ocean of sand and disappeared. Lisette tried to dive in after him when…_

A scream jolted her out of her dream. Her eyes, though sore, flew open. Spotting the door, she opened it out into a small café. It was mostly empty as she ran to the source of the scream.

Which turned out to be Sarafina. Lisette stopped short, never having seen her friend this distraught. Tears raced down the tiny blonde's normally cheerful face. Everyone else was surrounding her like moths to a light. Elbowing her way through the crowd, she made her way to Sarafina.

"What happened?" asked Lisette. Sarafina seemed too distraught to answer. Juliet answered for her.

"Her brother disappeared."

Lisette swore under her breath. She looked out of the window. A tiny girl with a long mousy braid skipped down the street. She met the girls brown eyes. Although they were warm, she detected a hint of malice within them. The girl was carrying a folded piece of paper. The girl had disappeared from view for not more than three seconds when the shop door reopened with a tinkle like breaking glass.

The heads of the group whipped around almost in tandem. The girl on the street walked up to the cluster and held out her paper. She was young, no more than eleven, and she walked with an attitude Lisette hadn't seen since she was in New York. But she also seemed nervous.

The girl held the paper out to Sarafina. The girl shifted her weight from foot to foot. Sarafina read the paper, gasped, and gave the younger girl a look with the fury of a thousand angry dragons. "Who are you?" the venom in Sarafina's voice was enough to almost mask her accent.

The little girl took a deep breath. "My name is Ariana Moore. Call me Ari, or Ariana, and I'll kick you're butt. I'm going to Bloor's because I'm an awesome singer and if you touch my braid, you die. And don't even dare try messing with me. I grew up on the streets of Suffolk county."

There was a pause. Lysander raised an eyebrow and asked: "How old are you, anyway?"

"Eleven. What's it to you?"

Lisette let out a laugh. "You're pretty tough for someone who's probably never even been to Harlem. Have you even been past forty-second street?"

She scowled. Turning on her heel, she started walking away. Suddenly, she dropped and kicked out, swinging her leg behind Lisette to try and knock her off balance.

Not for nothing, Lisette was two years older than Ariana and at least a foot taller. Years of dance had made her strong, almost as strong as some of the boys in her class. She easily evaded the girl's attack, causing Ariana to kick the table. Lysander and Tancred both stood up. Ariana stiffened when she saw the height of the two boys and scowled. She held her foot and started hopping away, fury in her eyes.

"Erm… What just happened?" Asked Charlie.

"We were threatened by someone who watched too many Kung-Fu movies." Responded Lisette. "What does the note say Sarafina."

During the commotion, the petite thirteen year old had calmed down. But the subject still brought streaks of emotion to her face.

"You're brother is gone," She quoted. "We will contact you with instructions. If you do not comply, we will harm him."

Half an hour later, Lisette and Sarafina walked back to Sarafina's house. On the way there, they saw Ariana talking to a car window. She seemed to be arguing with someone in the car.

"How the hell do you expect me to find a guy who's practically a shadow? Also, he's FOUR entire YEARS older than me. And I just learned this morning that even TWO years makes a difference when it comes to strength. And that was against a girl! What does reading emotions have anything to do with that? Yeah, find him when he's exhausted, like that works. Doesn't this dude come back to you anyway? Why don't you want him out on the weekends anyway? No, I'm not questioning you, it's just…fine… I'll go after him." Ariana started walking away from the car.

Throughout this conversation, Lisette and Sarafina were concealed behind a moving van. A laughter came from inside the van, and the door opened. A wiry teenage boy dressed in all black, with long, rust colored hair and midnight blue eyes hopped out, clutching his side. Seeing the questions in their faces, he spoke. "You have no idea how funny that was. Especially for me." He had a musical voice with an Irish accent. "Especially since I'll be in my room by the time they get back." He disappeared into his shadow, which snaked along beside Ariana. Walking back to Sarafina's house, both girls found this event lightening; even Sarafina found a laugh despite the aches that plagued her heart.

**That's it for now. **

**Word count 1141.**


	9. Chapter 8

**That was a long hiatus. Schoolwork can really eat up your free time. Anyway. The usual disclaimers:**

**Ariana Moore Belongs to Youknowme, Adrick McKale Belongs to quoththeraven, and Juliet Thomas Dalton belongs to the sweet16 writer. I own Sarafina, Lisette, and the people connected to them (i.e., mother, brother, friends). Everything else is probably something you recognize, and that all belongs to Jenny Nimmo.**

**So Enjoy! And review! Yay!**

**Happy Sunshine!**

Surprisingly, Sarafina's mother took the news about her son well. Of course, she was really sad, but she didn't blame the girls. They spent most of Sunday doing homework and helping around the house while Ms. Zarkov sighed. Lisette wished she could do something to comfort her, as a feeling of guilt welled up inside her every time a mournful breath escaped from Sarafina and her Mother.

After a stiff dinner, the girls got ready for a week at Bloor's. Unable to contain her guilt, Lisette blurted out, "I'm really sorry!"

"Lisette, please. Do not feel sorry. It is not your fault."

"But it is! I came here! Someone got my blood, so technically I'm responsible."

"Please. Do not talk of this. It makes me sadder. My brother is gone, and my closest friend believes herself worthy of the blame. Let us talk about something happy."

"Like what?"

"Sir Shadow. He was funny, no?"

"Yeah…" Lisette laughed at the memory of the strange eleven year old and the guy with the midnight blue eyes. " Do you think he goes to Bloor's?"

"I know it. As does short one."

"Ariana? How do you know?"

"I overhear her conversation with the person in the mysterious black car," Sarafina shrugged and grinned. "I made a, how do you say, inference."

"Hmm," Lisette sat down and sighed.

A click, and the door to Sarafina's room opened. Ms. Zarkov poked her head in.

"Girls, it is eleven. You have school tomorrow. Sleep is recommended." Those were the sternest words Lisette ever heard her say. After bidding her hosts goodnight, she went to the guest bedroom and fell into a dreamless sleep.

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The next day, as they got off the bus, the first person they saw was the boy, dressed in what Lisette assumed was his usual black ensemble, walking into the building without a cape. Then Ariana got off of the music bus, her hair in a long brown braid. She was smiling. She glanced at Lisette and her face soured instantly. Lisette ignored this and rushed into her dance class with Sarafina.

At the first break, Lisette saw the shadow guy, sitting under a tree bent over an open sketchbook. She approached him as she would a small woodland animal.

"Hey," she said softly. "I'm Lisette. What's your name?"

"Adrick," He said, without any emotion.

"What are you drawing?" Lisette asked, in a desperate attempt to make some sort of conversation.

"An invisible cow eating invisible grass"

Lisette gave a half laugh. "Do you want to talk to people?"

"Not particularly. I prefer the voices in my head."

"Just don't listen to them if they tell you to jump off a cliff." With that, Lisette turned on her heel and walked away. Within a minute, she had reached the circle where Sarafina was engaged in conversation with Charlie, Fidelio, Lysander, Olivia, Emma, Juliet, and Tancred. Sarafina had relayed the details of Lisette's teleportation, and the group was in the midst of a deep discussion.

"Dorcas definitely could do something like infuse a piece of clothing with blood and use it for a malicious purpose," Tancred was saying, his cape moved by a slight gust of wind. Lisette noticed the way both Emma and Juliet looked at him. He was everything to both of them.

"But to what end? What are the Bloors doing with whatever they're using?" asked Lysander.

"I have a theory," Lisette interjected. "When I teleported everyone, and blacked out, I saw a small boy with white hair running through an ever-changing scenery. There were also wolves."

"That's Billy!" exclaimed Charlie.

Just then, the hunting horn blared. Ariana passed by the group with suspicion barely concealed by her smile. Lisette allowed herself to be swallowed by the crowd as she made her way inside.

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That night, Manfred was back supervising homework. Lisette noted that both Ariana and Adrick were sitting at the round table. _Two gone, two new,_ She noted, based on her information she had from the other endowed. It seemed awfully polarized. Dorcas and her group definitely were malevolent, but did Charlie's group instigate the conflict? Who was the catalyst in this reaction? Ariana seemed confused and scared rather than actually malicious. Her eyes crinkled when she smiled. _She probably just spoke to the wrong people first, _she thought with pity. Ariana looked up from her homework, made a face at Lisette, and looked back down. She glanced over at Adrick. Suddenly, one of the twins, because they seemed impossible to identify, spoke.

"Can the new people introduce themselves?" she asked Manfred.

"Yes!" her twin added. "What are their endowments?"

The tone of their voices gave Lisette the impression they already knew. Yet Manfred thought it was a good idea.

"This one," he said, gesturing at Ariana. "Is Ariana Moore. She can sense emotions.

"And that—" He began again, while pointing at Adrick, but he was cut off.

"I can introduce m'self, thank you," said Adrick. "Name's Adrick. That's all you need to know."

"But what's your endowment? You do have one, right?" asked Joshua.

"You really think I'll tell you?"

"Who will you tell?"

"If I'm lucky, no one. Just figure it out yourself. Or better yet, don't."

Lisette had to stifle a giggle. It was always slightly entertaining when people argued about inconsequential things. If Adrick did not want to share, who would blame him? Lisette thought she had it figured out anyway.

"McKale, spill," ordered Manfred.

"Oi, I don't want to tell. You know already, what's the point?"

"Detention."

A collective gasp spread through the King's Room. Apparently, detention was something you didn't want. Yet Adrick remained unfazed.

"I'm still not telling."

Manfred gave him a beady stare, and then returned to his work. At seven-thirty, they were dismissed. Everyone left the room, including Manfred. Lisette noticed Charlie's group congregating, and slinked up to Sarafina.

"Ten minutes," Charlie was saying. "We'll meet in the art room. I'll alert Fido."

"I'll tell Livvy," said Emma.

The group scattered into their dormitories, with Lisette following Emma. She wondered how often they met in the art room, and what they'd discuss this time. Despite the fact that they seemed to trust her, she didn't consider them anything more than acquaintances. Bloor's was a dark place. She, unlike the others, had no idea who to trust.

**Again, apologies for the delay. And also for the horrible fluff. Maybe it'll be important later. Anyway. 1151 words.**

**Review. Please. **

**~La La~**


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